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Former Act leader Richard Prebble has announced he's coming out of political retirement to be the party's campaign director for the election.

Acting party president Barbara Astill announced Richard Prebble's appointment as campaign director after a board meeting at the weekend.

"The appointment of Richard Prebble as campaign director means Act goes into the election with the country's best election strategist," Mrs Astill said. "Richard Prebble is a campaigning legend. He was the architect of ACT's greatest campaigning victories, including taking Act from a virtual zero in the polls in 1996 to winning Wellington Central and taking seven MPs into parliament.

"Under Richard, Act increased its vote in every election. As a Labour MP, Richard won the biggest general seat majority in parliament not once but twice. Richard Prebble has presented the Act board with a campaign strategy to win not only the Epsom electorate but also nine MPs. The Act Board has endorsed the Prebble campaign plan, which will be presented to the Act Party Conference at the Villa Maria Estate, Mangere, this Saturday," Mrs Astill said.

"I have come out of political retirement because Parliament needs at least one party willing to ask the question, where is the money coming from for all these political promises?" Mr Prebble said. "Act needed fresh leadership and new ideas. I urged Dr Jamie Whyte to stand for the leadership. Jamie will take Act back to the original principles of the Association of Consumers and Taxpayers which made Act the effective third force in politics. I have been reading Jamie Whyte's articles in the Wall Street Journal for years. He has an extraordinary knowledge of the world economy that will make him a very valuable member of parliament that any party would love to have.

"I have known David Seymour since he was a top engineering student at Auckland University. As someone educated in Epsom, David will be a very good MP for the electorate."

He said Act had the policies and the people. "A vote for Act ensures not only that John Key remains Prime Minister, but that a future National-Act government remains on the course of good financial sense."